Lionel Messi will not start Argentina's match against Jordan. The coach Scaloni has announced that the player will observe a rest period.
Lionel Messi will not have the chance to add to his World Cup scoring record when Argentina faces Jordan in the final match of Group J. Coach Lionel Scaloni announced that the superstar forward will not start Saturday's match (10 p.m. ET on FOX, FOX Sports app and FOX One). The decision not to start Messi came after the Argentina icon scored five goals in his team's first two matches. In the opening match of the tournament, Messi performed his first career World Cup hat-trick in a 3–0 win against Algeria. He then followed up with a two-goal performance in a 2-0 win over Austria on Monday, setting the all-time FIFA World Cup scoring record with 18. Thanks to these two victories, Argentina has already taken first place in group J. Therefore, Saturday's match has no value for Argentina. If Messi were to remain on the bench for the entirety of Saturday's match, he would have 10 days of rest before Argentina's round of 16 match. Argentina will face the second place in group H on Friday 3 July (6pm Italian time). If Argentina were to win, they would play against the winner of the match between the first and second teams in group G, but it would be a match to be played only 4 days later, on 7 July. The choice to rest Messi in Saturday's match will have no consequences on the scoreboard, given that Jordan has also been eliminated and Argentina does not have to worry about any runners-up in the group. Messi, with his 5 goals, is the main candidate to win the Golden Boot of the tournament, but there are 4 players chasing him one goal away, while Kylian Mbappé is stuck at 3 goals.
Southampton are stepping up efforts to seal a deal for midfielder Dan Neil, who is a free agent after leaving Sunderland. West Ham are urged to act quickly to avoid losing him to a rival club.
Iran and Egypt drew 1-1 in an emotional match, with Iran having a goal disallowed and hitting the crossbar late on.
Palermo goalkeeper Sebastiano Desplanches is being targeted by Rangers and Norwich City, with loan options available.